Into the Frying Pan

Last week marked one month of living in Dubai. I spent the evening that marked this event touring around old Dubai eating. The oldest neighborhood in Dubai is Deira, which was developed in the 70's and 80's by the way. Before that there were caravans and pearl divers, but not an established city like Abu Dhabi. I haven't visited the history museum yet, so sorry if this information is inaccurate! Arva is an entrepreneurial woman who wanted to share the food treasures of her part of town, so she started this special tour company, called Frying Pan Adventures, which caters to foodies. Here is a pic of her and her small team, the head of the show is sitting, probably because these tours are exhausting.

This is a list of the food we had and the places we ate: • Falafel mahshi (chickpea falafels stuffed with chilli paste, sumac and onions), hummus with a capsicum/green chilli pepper/garlic/lemon sauce called tatbeela, foul (Egyptian slow-cooked fava beans), kunafa (Palestinian cheese pastry) - at Qwaider Al Nabulsi, Murraqqabat Street. • Karabij (pistachio cookies with the soapwart cream!) and a tray of baklava called ‘bukaj’ (knapsack-shaped baklava stuffed with cashew nuts) from Samadi Sweets, Murraggabat Street • Shorbat adas (lentil soup), Iraqi masquof fish with amba (mango pickle), rayhaan (a type of basil), hashwat as-samak (tomato-onion-peppers fish stuffing) at Bait Al Baghdadi on Muteena Street • Emirati Chicken Machboos (lamb cooked in an Emirati blend of roasted spices or besar and with the rice simmered along with the chicken), Laham Salona (lamb curry with the traditional blend of Emirati spices), Yemeni chicken Mandi (spiced and slow-roasted chicken) served over two kinds of rice (the regular spiced one and then one with paprika and tomato paste called ‘Bukhari’) and Laban (drinking yoghurt) at Al Tawasol, near the Clock Tower • Persian Faloodeh (vermicelli noodles with sugar and rosewater, drizzled with your choice of lemon juice and/or rose syrup), topped with saffron and pistachio ice cream at Sadaf Sweets, Maktoum Road. This is a photo my boss took of me trying to figure out what I was about to eat. It is the saffron ice cream... with vermicelli...

I felt like I would burst, but it was a lot of fun. Well worth the price. Met some funny folks and will hopefully hang out with some of them again soon. Inshallah, a much used phrase meaning God willing.